Well, after MONTHS of desire and debate, I finally pulled the trigger on ordering the Engelbrecht Braten 1000 Series last night. I really enjoy wood grilling and low and slow BBQ, and I have never had an offset smoker or a grill that can endure years of wood fire temperatures. Now I will have both.
Found the review here on Amazing Ribs. Took me a long time to make the decision, due to the price tag. But I’m excited about it, and figured this was the place to share. Anyone else using the 1000 series?
Scotch: Current favorite- The Arran (anything by them), Glenmorangie 12yr Lasanta, sherry cask finished. The Balvenie Double Wood, also like Oban 18yr, and The Glenlivet Nadurra (Oloroso sherry cask finished) among others. Neat please.
About meReal name: Aaron
Location: Farwell, Michigan - near Clare (dead center of lower peninsula).
Occupation:
Healthcare- Licensed & Registered Respiratory Therapist (RRT) at MyMichigan Health, a University of Michigan Health System.
Congrats! Those are nice units, very versatile. I have separate gear for what this unit will do as one. Look forward to seeing pictures when it arrives!
In 2004 I fell with a tree in Nebraska, hunting not too far east of where my pellet smoker was manufactured. Paramedic lady asked what my name was as I was laying face down on the ground not knowing if I was paralyzed, I told her, "Engelbert Humperdinck." She laughed and said, "alright Engelbert, we are going to take care of you."
Hahahaha, believe me, I stared at this thing online forever. I talked myself in and out of it at least 20 different times since September of last year. Finally justified it with the rationalization that I should never have to buy another grill in my lifetime now. I bought a Weber Genesis gas grill 7 years ago, and that still looks and works like new. Now this. I'm excited.
I hear you brother.
I love those Engelbrecht Braten grills myself.
In my dream world I will have one.
Who knows maybe I’ll Wake up to find one in my backyard.
Oh BTW jt0940 congrats and I’m sooooooo jealous
Excellent! Excellent! Excellent! Can't wait to see more pics of these cookers in action. I think you're right. You quite possibly may have just purchased your last cooker. That thing does pretty much everything I'm interested in at the moment.
My grill should be arriving sometime next week. I hadn't really planned on it coming so soon, and had already resigned to the fact I would be doing my first cook after Easter. And due to work schedules and whatnot, it still seems likely that my first low and slow will be in April (probably ribs). Going to try and sneak in a surf and turf grill next week, if it arrives as planned.
This was one of the best (if not THE best) incarnations of this meal that I've ever made. Since the Braten is a dedicated wood-fire grill, I dialed it in with an hour burn before putting any food on. The temps reached around 900 degrees, according to the built in temperature gauge. The reason I think this meal turned out so well is because by the time I put the meat on, it was burning pure cherry. I have never cooked at high heat with wood for more than an hour total, due to my previous grills' inability to withstand the temps. Tonight, by the time I added the asparagus, my grill was burning hot and emitting very little smoke. My photos are probably a bit out of order, but this was my process:
I built my fire with some newspaper, and some fallen sticks in the yard. I downed a large cherry tree last summer, and used it to cook tonight (and for many nights to come.) After the fire was burning hot (and fast) I added the asparagus high above the fire, and closed the lid for a fast char. After about 8 minutes, I pulled the asparagus and took it to my Weber Genesis to finish on indirect heat. I also had red skin potatoes with garlic, butter, oregano, parsley, and salt & pepper cooking in foil over direct heat on the Weber.
My dinner guests all like well done steak (yuck) so their steaks were easy. I started them high above the fire with the lid down, and reverse seared them at the end. I like my steak rare, so when the other steaks were almost done, I added mine with the lobster tails and shrimp over high heat, close to the wood. I basted everything in melted butter, and topped three of the steaks with Amish bleu cheese. I pulled the steaks and shrimp, and allowed the lobster to cook shell side down, and baste in the melted butter for about 5 more minutes while the steaks rested.
Everything was fantastic. The cleanup on the Braten wasn't as easy as it looks in the demo videos, due to melted fat and grease, but it wasn't overly difficult. I have wanted to use this grill for a LONG time, and it exceeded all expectations. The solid structure handled my cooking temperatures with ease, and with proper maintenance, this thing should last 100 years. Due to other obligations, my next cook probably won't be until next Saturday (weather permitting). Then it will be time to fire up some "last meal ribs" on the side smoker!
Lonestar Grillz 24x36 offset smoker, grill, w/ main chamber charcoal grate and 3 tel-tru thermometers - left, right and center
Yoke Up custom charcoal basket and a Grill Wraps cover.
22.5 copper kettle w/ SnS, DnG, BBQ vortex, gasket and stainless steel hinge kit.
Napoleon gas grill (soon to go bye bye) rotting out.
1 maverick et-733 digital thermometer - black
1 maverick et-733 - gray
1 new standard grilling remote digital thermometer
1 thermoworks thermopen mk4 - red
1 thermoworks thermopop - red
Pre Miala flavor injector
taylor digital scale
TSM meat grinder
chefs choice food slicer
cuisinhart food processor
food saver vacuum sealer
TSM harvest food dehydrator
Well, I think my stick burning career will take more time to develop than I had hoped. Having never done it this way, I am having difficulty maintaining a fire with desirable temps. I errantly lost track of the temperature after I put a new log in, and the log had fallen from the ash pile and began to blast the chamber with smoke. So I think I may have some bitter ribs coming.
I got the fire re-started, but it’s burning hot now. Gonna take a bit of time to learn this, I do believe. I realistically knew this going in, but my first meal was so tremendous, and I’m preparing to be let down by oversmoked ribs.
They still have 2.5 hours to go, but my expectations are fairly low right now.
Well, the flavor was actually on point. No bitterness at all. The only downside is that they weren’t tender enough for my liking. I had a hard out at 5 hours and 30 minutes. And that’s when I pulled them, instead of letting them cook until it felt like they were ready.
The ribs tasted really good. I was worried about oversmoking, and it wasn’t an issue at all. The meat was from Costco, and I didn’t realize there were 3 racks. Had I got two racks from the butcher, I feel the results may have been different. Regardless, I’m going to have to practice the offset stick burning. At least it turned out better than I thought it would!
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